'Veep' finale: Stars celebrated the series, fans compared it to 'Game of Thrones'

Backstage at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, the cast of "Veep" celebrated co-star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who won two awards, but was unable to attend the ceremony due to her ongoing battle with breast cancer. (Jan. 22)
AP

"Veep," which aired its series finale on Sunday night after a seven-season run on HBO, will likely go down in onscreen history as one of TV's best-ever political satires. The show ended with many touching tributes from its stars and a flurry of "Game of Thrones" comparisons from fans.

As the finale aired, the stars of the show mourned the show's ending and celebrated its Emmy-winning run, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who played the show's central anti-hero character Selina Meyer, for which she won six best actress Emmys in a row.

"Nothing but gratitude and love for these fine @veephbo folks - pictured here and also not," Louis-Dreyfus wrote on Instagram, posting a pair of pictures of the cast onstage at two different Emmy Awards. "This has been the ride of a lifetime. Thank you @hbo for the support and support and support."

Tony Hale, who played Meyer's loyal assistant Gary Walsh, shared an additional photo of the cast and a heartfelt note on Twitter.

"For 8 years, I’ve had the gift of working with these wonderful folks," he wrote. "Not only am I so grateful for this job but even more grateful to have worked with people who are kind and giving. Cuz that’s the stuff that matters. Thank u all who watched and allowed us to keep doing it!"

Hugh Laurie, who played Meyer's political rival Tom James, called the show "maybe the best there ever was," while Anna Chlumsky, whose Amy Brookheimer was another one of Meyer's long-suffering staffers, thanked the show "and all of the several hundreds of people who made (it) - for changing my life."

Timothy Simons, whose loose-cannon character of Jonah Ryan was one of the show's greatest joys, posted a lengthy Twitter thread.

"Thank you to @hbo for letting us continue to run, even though we were chaotic as (expletive)," he wrote. "Thank you to the ensemble of actors, the most talented, collaborative, and supportive anyone could ever have been so lucky to work with. Thank you to the crew who would work long hours with good humor and unparalleled skill. And thank you to everyone who watched it. It doesn't exist without you."

"People keep watching and getting hurt by #GameOfThrones meanwhile the #Veep finale was literal perfection and no one on my TL even cares," shared a "Veep" fan.

"HBO stuck the landing by refusing to alter course from the Mad Queen she has honestly and openly been from the start! Losing her closest advisors & allies only underlined how dangerous she has always been down to her bones...ever since we first laid eyes on Selina Meyer. #Veep," one viewer wrote.

Elaine held several jobs of 'Seinfeld' but the most memorable might have been as an editor of the J. Peterman catalog. She had to talk Kramer (Michael Richards) off the ledge when he had second-thoughts about selling his life story to the catalog owner (John O'Hurley, right). J. Cohen, NBC

if you ever wanted to know what she looked like in a princess costume, now you know. In 2000, she played one in 'The Wonderful World of Disney's live-action 'Gepetto.' (From left: Rene Auberjonois, Drew Carey, Seth Adkins and Louis-Dreyfus) Bob D'Amico, ABC

In 2002, Louis-Dreyfus returned to sitcom life, playing a nightclub singer in NBC's 'Watching Ellie.' The show borrowed '24's real-time approach, but its time ran out after two seasons. Jeffrey Thurnher, NBC

In 2006, she left her longtime network home of NBC for CBS to star in 'The New Adventures of Old Christine.' She played the working mom of a young son (Trevor Gagnon) whose ex-husband (Clark Gregg) had a new girlfriend (Emily Rutherford) also named Christine. WARNER BROS.

In 2013, Louis-Dreyfus starred opposite James Gandolfini in one of his final roles, the romantic comedy 'Enough Said.' The 'Sopranos' star died on June 19, 2013, three months before the film was released. Lacey Terrell, AP

In 2017, she made Emmy history by winning outstanding lead actress in a comedy for the sixth consecutive time. She has eight acting Emmys in total, which ties with Cloris Leachman. Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

Over the run of 'Veep,' she's made a running joke of involving the people who play her assistants in her victory speeches. Here, Matt Walsh, who plays her communications director Mike McLintock does the honors at the 2014 Screen Actors Guild Awards. Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

In March 2017, Louis-Dreyfus and husband Brad Hall endeared themselves to college basketball fans by joining the cheering section for Northwestern University, where son Charlie plays ball. The team won its first-ever NCAA tournament game over Vanderbilt. David Banks, USA TODAY Sports